Category Archives: Innovation

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status quo defense

Status Quo Defense, Is That Your Position?

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Have you ever witnessed a status quo defense? Have you been a person who delivered one?

Change is happening all around you, even though the first thought is often a defensive posture.

That will never work.

We can’t do that because we don’t have the resources.

It is too expensive, we can’t pass the cost along. It will weaken our margin.

The status quo defense is common. Is it always appropriate?

Status Quo Defense

What changes are you attempting to protect against?

Is it technology?

A face-to-face is always better than a Zoom.

The newspaper, in print, is better and easier to read when compared with an online app.

Going to the movie theatre is much better than catching a movie on a digital stream.

Is change really about the risk of going backwards or is it more about the feeling of risk attached to the unknown?

All change involves emotion. There is often a gut feel, a weighing of risk, and the insecurity of the unknown.

A list of pros and cons might be helpful, but suddenly emotion and framing start to tarnish the attempt at honesty and facts.

Business meetings and strategy sessions often attempt to unveil something new. Something new means change and change often sparks a status quo defense.

You decide on what is most helpful, but quick and thoughtless reactions might leave you stuck or falling behind.

Debates create winners and losers. The other side of the coin is that without debate there may be complacency.

You’ll likely take a position.

Remaining neutral is a status quo defense.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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protected ideas

Protected Ideas Halt Forward Motion

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Are there protected ideas in your workplace? Those ideas that are on sacred ground, untouchable, or off-the-table?

While some thoughts or ideas may be off-the-table due to legal concerns with protected classes, discrimination, or even harassment, others are often felt to be untouchable without good reason.

Protected ideas are not open to the consideration of new ideas. In these cases, new ideas are blocked, refused, or otherwise disregarded because they might upset the rhythm or flow of processes or systems, or worse.

Quality systems sometimes struggle to find the balance between locked in for specifications, and the opportunity of innovation.

Quality systems expect the exact. The exact should be able to be replicated a million times or more.

Innovation expects development, change, and new directions.

Then the idea of continuous improvement surfaces and that adds stress to the quality system.

A tug-of-war.

Are you protecting old ideas?

Protected Ideas

Productivity and growth are often halted when the effort is spent on defending and protecting, in leu of exploring.

There is often a counterproductive mindset of, lock everything in place and never change. Yet, change is a requirement for progress.

It may be possible to explore a new path without sacrificing an old way. Just because the old way has been proven effective does not mean that it will always be the best way.

Fast moving businesses and organizations discovered this to be factual during the early days (and on-going) of the 2020 pandemic.

Perhaps there is a balance, a happy medium, or a method to embrace both the tested and the unexplored.

People say that it is so, but where is the proof?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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memorize

Memorize or Look It Up, Which Type Are You?

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Is your first action to memorize the information? Another choice is to plan to look it up again when needed. Are you one of these types or somewhere in-between?

Thirty plus years ago, it seemed the primary method of developing or honing a skill was to memorize the tactical components. This made experience so much more relevant.

The auto mechanic who knew the engine inside and out and could recite torque specifications for the crankshaft bearings, connecting rods, and cylinder head, had more value when compared with the less experienced oil-changer.

It is also true for the computer programmer who understood Control Language, Assembler, and Machine Code. Today, high-level software instructions shield most application developers from the lowest level instruction code.

It’s probably true in architecture, engineering, and even in health care, what once required deeper understanding and foundational skills is somehow replaced with higher-level, simpler instructions.

The school-age kid wonders about the need to learn the fundamentals of math when there is a always a calculator in hand.

Does it matter?

Memorize or Look It up

Like many things in life there are arguments either way.

Do you only have to learn enough to be able to look it up? Is that true for a heart surgeon, the bridge builder, or the CPA?

The most simplistic argument is, what happens if you don’t have access to look it up?

What if you don’t have the calculator, what if you don’t have YouTube, or Google? What if?

How will you learn how to do the next thing? Will creativity automatically develop, or does it only happen with those who have the curiosity to ask a deeper question?

Does history matter? What is the historical perspective?

It seems to me that fundamentals still matter. If we only know what we can look up then there isn’t much value in your contribution.

Studying, learning, and memorizing are the ground work for employee value.

Everything else might just be a robot.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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mechanized jobs

Mechanized Jobs, Are They In Your Workplace?

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Have you been striving for mechanized jobs? Is that the game plan for the future of your work?

People often mention the self-checkouts at the grocery or superstore. People might joke about the absence of the grocery bagger, once popular in suburban supermarkets in the 1970s or 1980s.

Some jobs may be nearly extinct. Is it because of automation, or is it more about margins and saving establishments?

On one hand every business is striving for exceptional service, on the other, every business is striving to reduce costs. Is there a happy medium, or really no medium at all?

For the manufacturer or the fast-food enterprise, it seems to be about automation. Robotize every job you can. Investments in technology reduces or minimizes headcount which ultimately is more reliable and reduces operational costs.

True, and largely a good thing.

Should you robotize more jobs? Is that better?

Mechanized Jobs

Better for what?

Is it better for the bottom line, or is does it propel you to the top of the curve, creating that moment right before starting a downhill slide?

Unemployment is stranger than ever. On top of that, everyone is operating during a time being label as The Great Resignation.

Are you struggling? Is your business or organization struggling with workforce problems?

In the 1960s and 1970s there was a lot of great work performed to analyze job performance, the psychology of work, and efficiency. Countless efforts were studied, analyzed, and published. Much of this work is still relevant today. It may be tweaked a little, but still relevant.

The quest for businesses to operate more efficiently with less headcount per operational dollar is nothing new.

Are mechanized jobs the answer for you?

Apple Pie Opportunity

Your grandmother may have made a great apple pie.

The apple pie can be mass produced, thousands and thousands of them, with very little human intervention.

I’ll bet there is a difference between those pies, and the one grandma once made.

And there lies the opportunity.

The opportunity to do work that matters. Work that people can get behind because they understand and support the purpose, the product, and service outcomes.

You won’t stop automation. You shouldn’t even try.

There is always an intersection of price, quality, and value.

Mechanized shouldn’t lack purpose.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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nimble workspace

Nimble Workspace, Do You Have It?

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Work from home (WFH) may not drastically change the manufacturing plant floor for some time but has it changed your office environment? Do you have a nimble workspace?

Over a year ago, people were talking about the new normal. What would it be, what will it look like? Then, the phrase new normal started to wear out. No one seemed to know what that meant, and everyone had an opinion.

Working from home may have meant new levels of productivity. It meant measurement by metric of accomplishment, more project oriented and less time clock watching.

Some liked it and embraced, others feared that people were getting paid for doing nothing.

Then there are the organizations that attempted to measure work by log-in time. Log-in by 8:00 AM and don’t log out until 5:00 PM. And, if your device times out or goes to sleep we’ll know you aren’t working.

On top of that there were organizations that instituted endless Zoom meetings. The idea was, schedule a Zoom meeting and then people have to work. Death by Zoom became unnecessarily popular.

What was your experience? Did it improve things or create a useless bunch of clutter in an attempt to prove contribution?

Nimble Workspace

In the winner’s circle were the businesses and organizations that appropriately managed the transition. Likely, many of these winners were already well on their way to management by objective (MBOs) and management by project instead of by time clock.

What the winners discovered was that productivity improved. The drama was less. Wasted energy was less. The best employees had an opportunity to focus and concentrate instead of being distracted by birthday cakes and flip-flop wearers.

On the flip-side, communication faced challenges and the extroverts who gain their energy from social interactions felt like something was missing.

Like many things in life, there is probably an element in the middle. A sweet spot as is often described.

Now management has a need for change. The way people supervise is different. Directing and leading require more skills, less clock watching.

Is there a new normal? What is different for your workspace from 2019?

Nimble workspaces are thriving with effectiveness and efficiency. They also have great managers.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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workplace

Workplace, Is This The Era of The Great Resignations

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What is your workplace, or perhaps a better question might be, where is your workplace? You could also substitute the word workplace with, workspace.

Facing difficult or bad news is not easy. Many people find a way to deal with it, cope, and move on. It seems that the pandemic isn’t letting go of the behavioral reactions in people and the decisions they make.

There is a reported surge in the COVID virus which is being labeled the Delta variant.

What will this mean for your workplace or workspace?

Work From Home

It seemed like it happened in an instant in 2020. Everything shut down. Business operations that were labeled as essential kept going, but many businesses were forced to close their doors.

Some businesses had a fairly smooth transition while others suffered from shock about the way they work. In smaller more rural communities, the infrastructure wasn’t (and still isn’t) there to support work from home (WFH).

June 2021 was looking favorable. Many things opening, schools out for the summer, and finally some things were returning to normal.

Now, the Delta variant is threatening a retreat.

What will this do to your workplace? What will be the plan for your workforce?

Return To Office

The return to office (RTO) may not be coming as expected. Even if your business or the organization you work for has had this as part of the plan.

Is some of your team still working remote?

Has your return to the office been delayed?

What does the workforce want?

Trending Workplace

Some research indicates that what employees want has changed. They’ve had a taste of something different and now they want more.

Some are calling this new era the time of, “The Great Resignations.”

Many arguments exist as to why the workforce is facing so much struggle. Certainly, some of it appears to be connected with financial benefit invoked by the Government to help those in need during the pandemic.

Polls and surveys during the past 12 to 18 months have indicated that perhaps now more than ever before, employee satisfaction is way off. Employees want more, and they’re often finding it with businesses and organizations that they believe are the best places to work.

Some of this is the remote workforce, some of it may be blended or hybrid. In either case, it is largely different from the traditional workspace of 2019.

Is there a shift for you?

What is your workplace looking like these days?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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staying curious

Staying Curious Outweighs Growing Complacent

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Are you staying curious? Is there more, or have you mastered everything in sight and now prefer to keep everything exactly the way it is?

The saying is that curiosity killed the cat. It may have killed the mouse too.

Do you enjoy debating issues? Is a good debate something that energizes you?

Debates can be seen through two different lenses.

The first is that debates create winners and losers. Political debates are often structured to attempt to determine a winner. The other, is the loser.

A second view is that a lack of debate causes complacency. More debating means more discovery, more information, and a better outcome.

For workplace engagement, it might be a well-orchestrated balance of both that leads to the best teams moving forward and growing together across time.

Is curiosity important?

Staying Curious

The lifelong learner is curious. Interested to achieve more, interested about what else might work, and curious about different ways of navigating rather than being complacent and stuck.

Those who are curious ask more questions. More questions require intellectual processing, seeing things through a different lens, and careful navigation of what comes next.

Many people strike up a conversation by asking, “What’s up?”

It’s generic, it’s open, and who knows what is going to happen next.

Alternatives might be, “What’s new?” or “What are you up to?”

Finding a new path isn’t always easy. It starts by remaining curious. Nothing is standing still.

Good habits replicated across time can lead to new ways of doing things. Piece by piece, bit by bit, one drop leads to another which eventually fills the bucket.

What you’re building doesn’t happen in an instant. It often just appears that way.

The curious keep building.

A valuable habit is, staying curious.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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Labor force participation

Labor Force Participation Is Buried In Metrics

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Does your community have a high labor force participation rate? How is that measured? The Department of Labor and Industry has some measurement, is it accurate? Working from home (WFH) has become a big thing since March of 2020, are you still on the payroll?

The shift was a struggle for many. Both employers and employees had to pivot, shift, and adapt. Some have loved it, some have despised it, and some are envious.

Early in the process there was talk of the new normal. Then some weren’t sure, and now, it is all probably somewhere in-between.

There is a new normal for many. Some businesses have decided to stick with WFH employees. They are making plans to downsize their office space and are being productive while saving on overhead costs.

Does this change who is actually in the workforce? How are they being compensated? Are they independent contractors or employees?

Labor Force Participation

One big shift for some businesses was understanding how to hold employees accountable.

Are they being measured by logging into a private business network from 9 to 5? Do they click on a couple of items every few minutes? Are they required to be in Zoom meetings two to three times per day?

What is the metric to occupy a spot on payroll?

In some cases, it seemed to suffice by work turned in. Turn in the report, talk to the customers, make phone calls, send email messages, and quantify the work you are doing. Is that the same measurement as before?

Are you working for an organization or are you a subcontractor? Of course, the IRS has certain rules about this, but I’m not referring to the IRS ruling, I’m wondering about business trends?

Shifting Work

Manufacturing has been one area that seemed to keep on churning, largely with the same style as before. Restaurants, the ones that were able to remain open, similar thing. Essential workers, healthcare, emergency management services, and more, needed to be onsite.

We can quickly suggest that many areas of service and manufacturing, and others, will need an onsite workforce.

Is this onsite workforce shrinking?

Technology is continuing to change the dynamics. Many job roles are being replaced or subsidized by automation. Humans monitor output via video and data streams. Originally, much of this automation was built into the facilities, now, it is being monitored remotely.

What is the new definition of work? Are you participating in the labor force when you go on payroll? Do you need to be physically present, produce a tangible product, or simply meet a few metrics?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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popular

Popular Isn’t Always Immediate In The Workplace

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Much of the work people do is an attempt to make it popular. It is desirable for ideas to become popular. The same is true about workflow, energy, and the secret formula that every business believes they have.

When it comes to workplace culture, it is unique. To the same extent so are the individuals who make up the culture. Each person is bringing a slightly different perspective of their own values and beliefs.

Culture isn’t immediate. It takes shape across time.

Slow Starts

Many great ideas aren’t popular at first. They take time, some proof, a story, and examples.

Umbrella’s, coffee, and even personal computers had many moments of not being popular. While it sometimes seems hard to believe, often great things require time to become great things.

Businesses, organizations, and groups of all sizes and styles experience new ideas. Some of those aren’t original, and most haven’t been tested or stood the test of time.

It doesn’t mean that those ideas, systems, or strategies are without value.

Becoming Popular

What may be required is consistent effort, devotion, and an undying level of persistence to bring them to life.

If the people involved care enough and demonstrate their commitment others will often jump on board. For every idea, there is an associated journey. Some are longer than others. Some flash in the pan and are then dismissed just as quickly.

The biggest ideas, those of great value, often aren’t catchy at first.

Being popular, or not, often has little to do with long-term success.

Not immediate almost never means, not worthwhile.

It may some day mean popular.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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Navigating Mistakes

Navigating Mistakes Is Part Of The Process

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How are you at navigating mistakes? Do you get hung up on them? Do you get stuck or worry about how things might look?

Some mistakes are catastrophic. Launching a rocket for a rendezvous with the International Space Station may not have much room or tolerance for a mistake.

Trying your skill at a new Excel formula or launching a new test marketing project may be about trial and error. Mistakes are easily overcome, and may even be considered part of the process.

You have a chance each day to decide how you will navigate mistakes you encounter. Certainly, not all mistakes have the same consequence.

The Slinky, Penicillin, and potato chips all originated from a mistake of sorts. Created by accident but later showing an unsuspected high value.

Every time you are trying to blaze a new path. Whenever you explore the previously unexplored, or you may simply be on a mission to lead, you have to realize that mistakes are part of the process.

Navigating Mistakes

You draft the important email message and review it twenty-five times.

Why?

It is a draft and you expect mistakes.

Yet the worry of imperfection often delays the process. Procrastination may set in, or you may decide to skip it altogether.

What happens when the effort is for the customer?

When the customer expects perfect, it is probably an assumption that the mistakes have already been made. The bugs or kinks have been worked out and the trial-and-error period is over. A warranty helps ease the risk.

Most great outcomes develop from a series of previously poor decisions, mistakes, or accidents.

Learning has both a cost and a value.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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